Only Exception
by samashhh
Summary: "you are the only exception, and i'm on my way to believing." Hermione is uncertain about her relationship with Blaise Zabini, that is until Draco Malfoy shows up. DMHG


_**Only Exception: Part One**_

It had been announced, it was finally official and Draco Malfoy couldn't believe the words that came out of his best friend's mouth.

"You're serious?"

"I'm dead serious Malfoy."

He didn't know whether to burst out laughing or to have a heart attack. It just wasn't possible. He wasn't prejudice anymore, but seriously? Blaise was taking it too far.

"Look, I'm telling you the truth, I am dating Hermione."

"This is Granger we're talking about here; you're seriously telling me that you're dating Granger, Gryffindor Know-It-All?" He didn't understand why his best friend was so affected by one of the members of the Golden Trio.

"We haven't been in Hogwarts in three years Draco."

Draco just shook his head, still confused by this revelation. How was he supposed to process this? Was he supposed to accept it, welcome Granger with open arms? It was true, they hadn't been in Hogwarts in three years and in those times, he hadn't seen much of the Golden Trio, or anyone else since they all graduated.

"How long have you been keeping this from me?" Draco asked, wondering, how his best friend since they were five, had kept such a secret from him. He would see Blaise at least once a week, if possible considering they both had busy work schedules.

"Two months, we've kept it a secret from all our friends. I believe Potter and Weasley are just finding out now as well."

"Great."

"Look, I wanted to tell you but we weren't sure where the relationship was going, you are the first person I've told, if that makes you feel any better." Blaise said reassuringly.

"Thank you Blaise, I feel much better now."

It wasn't that he hated Granger, but he didn't like her either, now he knew he would have to play nice, as long as she was in Blaise' life which he wasn't necessarily comfortable with. Blaise was his best friend; they've been through too much to ruin it all because of a girl. Their friendship had been ruined before, back in fifth year, they hadn't nearly spoken for three months during that time. All because of a girl, they had made a pact since then to put their friendship first.

"I'm sorry; will you please forgive me and perhaps come with me and Hermione for dinner tonight?"

He already knew his answer before he said it. He didn't want to go, it would be awkward enough being with them as they were a couple whereas he was single, but nonetheless, he knew he would show up, make up some excuse not to stay and leave.

"Alright, since you asked so nicely."

**XXX**

He was meeting them at the restaurant, one of which Blaise owned. He was running late, but that hardly mattered to him, better late than never. He passed by the hostess, as he was recognised instantly, he was _Draco Malfoy_ after all.

He found their table at the back of the restaurant, obviously for privacy issues. "You're late mate." Blaise greeted him, giving him a slap on the back. "Draco, meet Hermione."

Draco looked at Granger, he was speechless. She looked nothing like the bushy bucked-tooth Know-It-All. She looked… _pretty_, he supposed. "Nice to see you Granger," he held out his hand in greeting, not sure how to greet a former enemy.

She shook his hand lightly, he could feel a slight tingle, but ignored it completely. "It's Hermione."

"Very well, _Hermione_." It felt weird to be saying her first name after so many years calling her by her last name through seven years of schooling. He dismissed his thoughts and proceeded to look at the menu.

"I've already ordered for Hermione and me, we were just waiting on you." Blaise told him directly, which promptly meant that he should hurry up and order something. It didn't take long however, for Draco already knew what he had wanted, he just wanted to annoy Blaise.

Once the waiter came back to their table, Draco ordered. However once the waiter left, the trio was left in silence. It wasn't a comfortable silence per say but Draco had no idea what to say. Luckily Granger broke the silence.

"So Draco, what do you do for a living?"

He knew actually what Granger was doing, making small talk with him in order to please Blaise. Nevertheless, he would humour her. "I work at the ministry. I'm an Auror."

"Really?" She had almost acted surprised, which surprised him; she must have known that considering he did work with her two best friends. "Do you work with Harry and Ron then?"

"Occasionally," he told her. Before he could ask her where she worked they were interrupted once again.

"Mr. Zabini, there seems to be a problem in the kitchen that needs your immediate attention."

Blaise got up from his chair and professedly apologized to Hermione and left the table. Before Draco could say anything else, Granger interrupted once more. "Look, I know this is awkward for you, and I know we never got along in school but I was hoping to change that, if you're willing?"

He knew he made a mistake the moment he agreed, but his reasoning behind it was to make Blaise happy, that's all it was.

**XXX**

Whenever Blaise couldn't accompany Hermione to her events or vice versa, Draco always seemed to step in. He didn't mind taking her; it wasn't as if he had anything better to do. He surprised himself that he actually liked spending time with her. The only thing that bothered him was the Daily Prophet headlines. They always speculated about his so called relationship with Hermione, whereas he knew there was no such thing. Hermione was dating Blaise, not him. Hermione and Blaise had been dating close to a year now; he couldn't believe that much time has passed since he was first reacquainted with Hermione. He could say that they were close friends, but nothing more. He knew on more than one occasion, Blaise tried setting him up, but nothing ever worked out.

No woman was good enough. They weren't pretty enough, nor smart enough. He couldn't stand going on dates with woman who only wanted him for his money or his status. He did feel jealous of the fact that his best friend had found happiness whereas he was alone. He wanted what Blaise and Hermione had, and he knew that someone like Hermione was rare, someone completely extraordinary. It wasn't possible that he wanted Hermione; she was his friend and was taken. The fact that he could remotely think that he wanted her was preposterous. It wasn't likely to ever happen and he knew that Blaise was smitten with her, if not in fact in love with her. It was still hard to believe his Slytherin best friend had settled down. He had no idea where their relationship was going and he didn't want to care. It wasn't his business, what did with their time when he wasn't around.

It was late at night whereas he sat in his living room, drink in hand and a newspaper in the other. There weren't many nights where he could just enjoy his nights, his job kept him busy enough. He heard his floo connection open up and in stumbled Hermione. She didn't look too happy, tear streaks on her cheeks; her hair was simply a mess. He sat his drink on the table next to him, and stood up. He was completely confused, he rarely ever saw her crying, and usually she was smiling and happy to see him.

"Hermione?" he asked her, tentatively.

"Draco, you have to talk to him."

"What? Talk to whom?"

He led her to his couch, where she promptly sat down, saw his drink and gulped it down in one shot. He could clearly see that she was upset, not quite sure about what but he knew he was about to find out.

"Blaise, you have to talk to him."

"Merlin, Hermione you're making no sense. Why do I have to talk to him? What happened?"

"I told him, that-" she stopped than, wiping the tears from her face as more fell. "That I loved him."

"And?" He knew this conversation would happen sooner or later, he just didn't think that he would have to be the one to tell her. It wasn't his place.

"And he didn't say anything; he just looked at me and walked out. I haven't seen him since."

"How long ago was that?"

"Five hours ago. I don't know what happened; we've been together for a year now. Do you know why he's acting like this?"

"I have some idea." He told her.

"Would you care to share because at this precise moment, I'm completely confused?"

"Typically Blaise, doesn't do relationships. He hasn't for the longest time. The longest time he's ever dated a witch was three weeks. You've been the only one who's lasted the longest. I think he's coming to realize that you aren't going anywhere and he's afraid he'll mess up and screw things up. Saying the L word is foreign to him."

"Does this have to do with his parents?" She was good, he knew that she didn't know the entire story between Blaise' parents but she had the idea.

"Sort of, you know he cares about you, he wouldn't be with you if he weren't. Maybe just give him some time."

"How much time Draco, five months, a year? How do I know that this relationship is going anywhere if he doesn't tell me?"

"I don't know." He said, he knew he wasn't much help to her, he barely knew himself what love was. "I'm not much help am I?"

"No," she said with a laugh. "But I appreciate it all the same."

He got up, poured himself another drink and handed it to her. "I think you need this more than I do."

_**2 hours later…**_

"I think we're drunk Draco." She stated.

He knew he could hold his liquor much better than Hermione could, but he knew that if he opened his mouth, he'd probably do something or say something he'd regret. He knew Hermione would leave to go back with Blaise and talk with him and that caused him discomfort. Why did his best friend always have to have everything? Blaise didn't deserve her.

"What did you say?"

Crap, he hadn't realized he'd said that out loud. At the moment, he was going to blame the alcohol for this. He had to divert the situation and fast. Instead he knew there was no going back; he didn't know why he did it.

"I said that Blaise doesn't deserve you, and if Blaise hadn't gotten to you, I would have." He prayed that she didn't remember any of this the next morning; he couldn't bear having to face her after this.

"What are you saying Draco?"

"I'm saying that maybe you deserve much better, someone who won't hesitate to tell you how they feel about you."

She hesitated before answering. "Are you implying that you like me Draco?"

"I don't just like you, I love you." He couldn't believe he just blurted that out. He blamed it on the alcohol, he truly did. He wasn't even sure these feelings of his towards her were even real. They couldn't be, why did this have to happen? He couldn't be in love with her, she loved Blaise.

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for? It's my fault, I know you love Blaise and I'm not trying to get in between you and I won't, just promise you'll be careful."

"What exactly do I have to be careful of Draco?

"Of Blaise, he may care about you and you may love him, I just hope he's not stupid enough to break your heart."

"I think you're more than drunk than you realize." She told him.

"Probably, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do this."

"Do what?" She wasn't able to finish her sentence before she was caught off guard. Her lips were captured in his and somehow Draco knew he never wanted to let go. She was intoxicating, and her lips felt smooth and firm. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, she was in a relationship and yet he couldn't help himself.

He'd never felt this way about anyone else, no matter the countless women he'd been with. If just one kiss was all it took, he shuddered to think what would happen if anymore have happened between them. But alas, he knew this was wrong and pulled away from her, leaving them both breathless, hearts beating quite fast.

"We shouldn't be doing this, I love Blaise and I-, I need to go." She told him quickly. She left quite hurriedly without a goodbye.

He knew then, that he had ruined everything.

**XXX**

It had been two weeks since then, he hadn't heard a word from her, or Blaise for that matter. He didn't know if she would tell Blaise what had happened between them. If she had, he knew Blaise would have beaten the crap out of him, which was expected. Draco could not feel worse than he already did. He knew he probably ruined his chances with her, ruined his friendship with Blaise once again. As luck would have it, an owl stood tapping at his window.

Draco opened the window, letting the owl fly in as it patiently waited for a reply. He knew this was Blaise' owl though he was not quite what to expect from. He opened the letter quickly, hoping it wasn't a howler.

'_Draco,_

_Can you meet me at the Leaky Cauldron in 10 minutes, there's something I need to talk to you about._

_Blaise.'_

He quickly replied back and attached the note to the owl's leg. He knew it was inevitable and he couldn't ignore Blaise forever, eventually he would find out or if he didn't know already. He got to the Leaky Cauldron in record time with two minutes to spare. Blaise wasn't here yet, but it didn't mean he had much time to prepare himself for what might happen.

"Draco, I'm glad you came."

Draco looked up to face his best friend and he didn't look too well. He had bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and from the looks of it, he had barely eaten anything either.

"What's going on Blaise?"

"Hermione and I have been fighting, and I don't know how to fix this."

He swallowed hard, "What happened?"

"I, I, well I'm sure Hermione has told you by now, but she told me she loved me and I just stood there. I didn't know what to say. I care about her, but it just came all too sudden I had to get out of there. When I came back later that night, she wouldn't even look at me. Maybe I was wrong about her, I don't know anymore." Blaise was mumbling and it was hard for Draco to understand what he was saying.

"What are you saying; you want to break up with her?"

"I don't know, I don't know what I want. I like her a lot but love, I'm not ready for that."

"Then tell her that, she may not like it but she'll probably understand a bit better." Draco told him sincerely.

"Maybe, it's been two weeks, she won't talk to me and she can't even look me in the eye. Do you think I've ruined it for us?"

"Blaise, do you really think I'm the one who should be giving you advice? I'm not exactly an expert here."

"I know but it's not like either of our friends have any experience. I know your longest lasting relationship was three months but you're all I have to go to for help, which I already know is not nearly efficient."

"Mate, I have no idea what to say. If you care enough to keep your relationship with Hermione, than clearly she's worth your time."

He knew it was on the tip of his tongue to tell his best friend what had happened between Hermione and himself. Although he couldn't bear to think what it might do to his best friend if he ever did found out? It was just a kiss; there was no harm in that. It wasn't like it would have gone further than that even if he had wanted it to. Hermione had specifically told him that she loved Blaise; he couldn't stand in between them.

He still didn't understand how it came to this; she used to be just a mudblood to him, someone for him to pick on at Hogwarts. What had changed? What had suddenly seemed desirable to him that he forgot all thoughts and prejudices against her? He hated her in school and now he couldn't get enough of her.

"Maybe you could talk to her?"

"What? I'm not going to do your dirty work for you."

"I know but maybe you could persuade her somehow to listen, to be more agreeable with my reasons."

Draco would not under any circumstances do this; there was no way he was talking to her. It would be too awkward, there was already enough tension to cut like a knife and yet Blaise wanted him to break the ice? That just didn't seem fair to him. He couldn't and he wouldn't do this. But the thing was that Blaise didn't know, didn't know that he and Hermione had had a moment together. He knew he should tell him, hell Hermione should have told him. Question was why hadn't she?

"Fine, I'll talk to her."

**XXX**

"We need to talk." Those were the first words he said to her after he'd knocked on the door.

She just nodded her head and let him in her flat. "I already know Blaise has talked to you and I still just don't know what to say to him."

"What exactly has he said?"

"He told me that he doesn't know what he feels for me and that doesn't think he could possibly ever say the words. He knows that he cares for me but really is that good enough? Do I have to settle for second best just cause I can't have it all?"

"Okay Hermione, you've lost me."

"You don't get it do you Draco? You kissed me; you told me how you felt about me whereas Blaise can't. Am I supposed to wait for him, to finally decide that he wants to be more than just friends with benefits?"

He knew than that she never forgotten about that night as he was hoping she would. He didn't know what to say to this, how to respond to her questions when he didn't know the answers.

"Have you talked to him about this?" In which he was referring to them, not so much Blaise's feelings.

"No I did not tell him about us. Believe me, I wanted too. It wasn't so much that it would damage our relationship, aside from the fact that we technically don't even have one. It was the fact that he doesn't know what he wants, I tell him how I feel and it just blows up in my face. How am I supposed to deal with that?"

"Hermione, you need to calm down. Blaise cares about you; even a blind woman can see that. You've been together for a year now that has to mean something, doesn't it? You can't expect perfect, that doesn't exist."

"I know that, I'm not expecting a marriage proposal, I just want him to say the words, to prove that we actually mean something to each other. For all I know, Blaise could be cheating on me and I wouldn't have a clue. What I'm more surprised about is you."

"What about me?"

"Do you not realize the implications of what you said, you told me you loved me Draco and you're not even fighting for it. Aren't you Draco Malfoy, who always gets what he wants and yet you do nothing."

"Are you calling me a coward Granger?"

"Yes I am, you've been with me through my ups and downs when Blaise hasn't. You've been there when my aunt passed away, you've been there when Ron wasn't speaking to me, you've been there with me and yet you're not fighting for what you want, you want me Draco, come get me."

He knew she was baiting him; it didn't take a genius for someone to figure that out. The question was why, why was she doing this to him? Taunting him, knowing full well that she was technically taken and she knew that.

"Stop, please."

"Why, what exactly are you afraid of Malfoy?"

"I know I'll do something I'll regret."

"Do you regret kissing me, was it a mistake?"

"No." He hesitated answering her, he didn't want to lie but he didn't want to tell her the truth either. "It wasn't a mistake, at least not to me but you have to realize that we can't be anything more than friends if Blaise is still with you. I won't do that to him and I won't do that to you, you deserve better than that."

"I have no idea what to do. I'm not sure I even want Blaise anymore if all it does is cause problems and I've had enough of those to last me a lifetime." She told him. Tears started to fall from her eyes, wiping them away quickly as she finished her sentence.

There was nothing he could say to her to make her feel better, he didn't want her to change her mind, persuade her to be with Blaise when he knew in his heart that he wanted her to be with him. He couldn't do that to her either, he wasn't noble but he wasn't heartless either. He would always hate Potter and Weasley but it didn't mean he was a horrible person. He didn't want to cause her pain, he wanted to help her, even if it only meant being friends.

"I'm sorry."

There was nothing he could do for now, but this was all he had in his life, her and Blaise. They were the only ones who had accepted him for who he was not what he done during the war and/or Hogwarts. He didn't want her to hate him, but he had no choice.

"What are you sorry for?" She spoke. "You have nothing to be sorry for, you're not the one who is in some fucked up relationship that doesn't seem to be going anywhere. If anything, the only thing you have to be sorry for is not telling me sooner that you loved me. Maybe then I..."

"Am I interrupting something?" said a voice from the hallway.

They both hadn't heard the door open or any of the protection spells being lifted. They had been so absorbed in their conversation that they barely noticed.

"Blaise! What are you doing here?"

Her voice was hesitant now, which he knew from observations that she wanted to know how much Blaise had heard and what and how this affected them.

"I came back to talk with you, but i can see now that there was no need. I'll pack some of my stuff and be on my way." Blaise said.

"I think i'm going to go, I see you both have a lot to talk about." Draco said in a rush. There was no need for him there, he realized now that he should have never meddled with their relationship when it was fragile as it already was. "I'll see you."

END OF CHAPTER:

THERE WILL BE A PART TWO, BUT IN HERMIONE'S POINT OF VIEW.


End file.
